The artwork of fiction is dead. Proust, Tolstoy, Atwood, flow over. While half of America slept, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets one hundred forty-137 in a game with four – count them, you almost run out of hands – four beyond regular time intervals. That hasn’t passed off because Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. Yes, a person named Eisenhower turned into the president. NPR’s Tom Goldman is beginning to look like a metropolis USA with organic ramps and fiddlehead ferns – Portland. Tom, thanks for being with us. And I’m breathless.
TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: I wouldn’t leave it out.
SIMON: What a recreation – what a game.
GOLDMAN: Three and a half hours of the game as a diversion, entertainment, and unmitigated delight, except you are from Denver.
SIMON: (Laughter) Pleasurable till the last 2d – remaining five.Six seconds, sincerely – yeah.
GOLDMAN: The quality summing came from Portland head-educate Terry Stotts after the game. He stated I don’t know what came about within the first half of the second one 1/2 or the primary three overtimes. Rodney Hood came in and played notable. It became a hell of a sport. I’ve never been worried about a game like that. It changed into an exceptional attempt through each group. Rodney Hood, who he did mention, got here into the sport…
SIMON: Yeah.
GOLDMAN: Thereare two minutes left in the fourth time beyond regulation after sitting at the bench for all time. He becomes the hottest participant at the court. And he scored seven factors, consisting of a monster three-point shot on the stop, which quite plenty sealed it. Sadly, Scott leaves out such a lot of different players.SIMON: Yeah.
GOLDMAN: …From both groups who competed magnificently. But if I’ve piqued your hobby, set aside three half hours nowadays and watch a replay.
SIMON: On the other hand, it is simply -sport-to-one lead. Do the Blazers have enough inside the tank?
GOLDMAN: I think each group will summon the bodily energy. This is what they train for. But I assume Portland has a psychological benefit right now. Losing a recreation like that once that attempt is pretty demoralizing. And Denver has to address that. And it, in all likelihood, puts them in a more prone position. If the Blazers get by way of Denver, in all probability, Golden State lurks within the next spherical.
SIMON: Yeah.
GOLDMAN: Blazer lovers are simply wondering…
SIMON: Lurks – Golden State looms.
GOLDMAN: Looms—however, Blazer fanatics are considering tomorrow’s Game 4 against the Nuggets now.
SIMON: Kentucky Derby, of the path, today – however, this year’s race comes in the face of loads of controversy surrounding the deaths of the finest athletes in that game. And, of the path, I suggest the horses.
GOLDMAN: Yeah. Today starts the Triple Crown duration – 3 large races, the Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes, over the subsequent month. This time always captures even the informal racing fan. But as you say, horse racing is already in the spotlight with the deaths of 23 horses in the latest months at Santa Anita in Southern California. Those deaths precipitated calls for reform – some of it starting to appear.
SIMON: Some modifications had been made, right?
GOLDMAN: Yeah. Santa Anita has responded by making numerous modifications to the medication for racehorses. Just this week, it was announced that the track will be used for experimental engineering to look at horses and diagnose injuries before they emerge as catastrophic. That’s taken into consideration a huge deal. On a larger stage, a corporation known as the Coalition For Horse Racing Integrity – is beginning a nationwide marketing campaign to guide a current invoice in Congress that could regulate racing and unify an extremely balkanized industry.
SIMON: Yeah.
GOLDMAN: Thirty-eight states have raced. And there are 38 units of rules. It is tough to get any measure handed, particularly protection measures that could shield the horses.
SIMON: Something I’ve wondered about in the latest weeks – Tom, does horse racing have trouble the way football has a problem with concussions, that there may be simply damage in the sport itself?
GOLDMAN: That’s a virtually good question. Some people say this is the case and that horse racing should be abolished because it’s inherently merciless to the animals. But many others inside the enterprise say racing can pass on appropriately without being mistreated. But it must be much higher if the enterprise desires to benefit many humans and be humane in the direction of the animals. There needs to be reform because reform efforts stall if the public loses a hobby. As one animal rights activist instructed me, complacency is the enemy of the horses. And that might doom a whole enterprise.
SIMON: Yeah. NPR’s Tom Goldman, thanks a lot.
GOLDMAN: You’re welcome.
